Saudi Arabia now hosts over 2.5 million Syrians who have fled their country because of the ongoing war, with the Kingdom providing work, education and health support, a local publication reported Monday.
The Saudi government has been careful not to treat these Syrians as refugees and place them in camps, but have maintained their dignity by providing them complete freedom of movement, the publication reported.
The authorities had taken a decision not to deport any Syrian residing on its territory even after the expiry of his or her residency documents. A royal decree was recently issued to exempt Syrians for these violations because they would be arrested and tortured if they return to their country.
In 2012, a royal decree was issued stating that all Syrian students residing in the Kingdom would be accepted at public schools. According to statistics issued by the Sakinah campaign, the Kingdom now has more than 130,000 Syrian students enjoying free public school education.
The royal decree emphasized that there should be support for all Syrians deprived of education because of the war in their country. A special committee was formed to follow up on the process, which was overseen by the Ministry of Education with all regional departments.
Another royal decree was issued that saw the establishment of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques University Program to help Syrian students. This saw Saudi universities open their doors for these students, which only required that they should hold a visitor visa and required academic qualifications.
On the labor issue, a royal decree approved recommendations of a committee to allow Syrians who entered the Kingdom with visitor or temporary visas to work in the country. This would ensure that their skills could be put to good use.
On the health front, a royal decree was issued two years ago ensuring that all Syrians would be able to get emergency care at state expense at primary health care centers and public hospitals.
Recently, sources told local media that three ministries were working on finalizing the mechanisms that would allow Syrians who entered the Kingdom with a visitor visa to acquire work permits. These were the labor, interior and foreign ministries.
The Saudi government support for distressed Muslims include those from Burma, Turkistan and Palestine. Each count for a quarter of a Saudi worker, the report stated.
